Revs trade Joseph to Chivas USA (updated)

For years, there was no player more synonymous with the New England Revolution than Shalrie Joseph, but it appears the Joseph era is ending for the Revs.

According to Joseph's agent, Ron Waxman, New England is trading Joseph to Chivas USA. Waxman revealed the trade on Twitter on early Wednesday morning. Neither team has announced the deal yet, but the reaction of Joseph's former New England teammates on Twitter suggest the trade has been completed. It remains unclear just what Chivas USA would be sending to the Revs in the deal.

(UPDATE-The teams have formally announced the trade and Chivas USA is sending midfielder Blair Gavin, a second round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft and allocation money to the Revolution in exchange for Joseph.)

With Joseph headed west, the move signals the end of a ten-year run with the Revs that saw Joseph develop into one of the best midfielders in MLS history. A four-time MLS Best XI selection, the 34-year-old midfielder came into the 2012 season as a Designated Player, earning more than $500,000 this season. He has endured some minor injury issues this season, starting in 15 of the New England's 21 matches this season.

Chivas USA is in the thick of a playoff push, and currently stands seven points behind the LA Galaxy for the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs with three games in hand. Joseph joins fellow former Eastern Conference standouts Juan Agudelo and Dan Califf as high-profile additions by Chivas USA this season.

So why would New England unload the team's captain and most recognizable player? That is unclear at the moment, but with Benny Feilhaber and Clyde Simms as central midfield options alongside Kelyn Rowe and Stephen McCarthy, New England might have just seen an opportunity to deal a high-priced older player at a position of depth in order to bolster another position on the field.

It is sad, though at the same time he hasn’t seemed like his old dominant self out there. I used to play holding midfielder and I hoped at the time I could run the show as well as Shalrie could. My favorite Revs Shalrie Joseph memory is the series of SuperLiga games against Mexican teams. The Mexicans tried and failed all first half to pass it through the middle, but Shalrie destroyed it all. In the second half they would completely avoid the middle and just play up the wings – Shalrie made the middle a complete no-go zone, it was awesome to watch.

Gotta say that I will be glad to see him playing on grass most of the time. Playing on turf for more than half the games every season for 10 years has to be taxing on the body of a pro athlete who is on the plus side of age 30.

That would actually make sense. Moving Joseph would free up the DP spot and salary needed for a move for a player like Boca. It would make sense as well, since the Revolution defense is far from stellar.

I’m not sure why Boca would want to come to the Revs, though. He would not be short of suitors in the MLS and perhaps in Europe, so why would he choose to play at frikin Gillette Stadium in Foxboro? Until the Revs obtain a soccer-specific stadium in the Boston area, they will remain a second-class team in the MLS.

As a Revs fan this is a sad day. Twellman retires early due to concussion symptomns, Ralston forced to retire early and takes a coaching gig at Houston, and now Shalrie traded. Throw that on top of the Cancela/Dempsey/Dorman/Parkhurt moves and it’s tough to say our big names have had graceful exits.

As for the trade itself, it’s difficult to say how good or bad a move it is without knowing just how much allocation money came with Gavin. I have to assume the Revs want to use that top allocation spot and I’m hoping it’s Bocanegra. I have a feeling they’ve got a DP in mind, otherwise I don’t understand the trade.

I commented after the last game that Shalrie had clearly lost a step both physically and mentally. That being said, I assume ownership is simply trying to set the all-time low for attendance. Who is the face of the franchise now? Reis? Good luck.

Joseph hasn’t really been near his best all season, except for perhaps his time as a makeshift centerback, and simms has been excellent. Sad to see Joseph go but hasn’t been reliable as he used to be. Does hurt the revs a bit in terms of depth, but maybe if Boca comes in McCarthy will see time in the midfield.

My favorite Revs player of all time traded for the lesser talented Gavin. The Krafts wouldn’t let him go to Europe a few years back (much like Twellman) and now they dump him mid-season because he forced them to give him DP money. Has any player left the Revolution on good terms? I hate the Krafts.

Joseph was the one of the faces of the franchise up until now, but it’s not like the Revs are short of names ppl will show up to see: Nguyen, Benny, Sene, Soares; not to mention the younger guys like Rowe and Fagundez, and i’m sure more than a few will be excited to see Bengtson when he returns from the olympics. big thing now is getting more wins and getting back to the playoffs…

I think it’s more a combination of $$ and the fact that Joseph really hasn’t been playing all the well, all season, not for DP money anyways (despite the fact that he deserved the pay raise for his years of service).

He might be out of form, but he has been an absolute beast for so many years and I can’t imagine they’re going to replace him with anyone of similar quality. Clyde Simms is a very ordinary journeyman player compared to Joseph. The Krafts may be good owners for the Patriots but they are stingy, ineffective owners of the Revs. They blocked Shalrie moving to Europe to further his career when he had the chance and now dump him when he has a slight downturn. They should sell the team to someone who really loves and cares about soccer and will build a soccer specific stadium.

These guys didn’t go to Europe because MLS wasn’t offered enough, considering how much it would’ve taken to replace them. If they wanted to leave, they could’ve done as Dempsey did and not signed a new contract. It’s a fact of life that players move on.

This is also true of Brian Ching and other team heroes of the last decade but you hit the wall at some point where you’re no longer as mobile or healthy, that affects fitness, leads to further injuries, downward spiral.

Midfield in particular is a position where you have to have the wheels. You can’t hide behind an offsides trap or poach goals in the box. You can’t just sit in one box and catch balls all day.

So we’ll see if Chivas can squeeze more out of him or if this is basically a NE cap clear. NE surely has another shoe to drop besides Gavin. And a second round pick, especially as the league expands and some players detour around the draft by homegrown status, is becoming less and less consequential. Throwaway considerations.

To me this is like Houston benching Ching, you have to look unemotionally at today’s roster and ask whether he’s in the bext XI now, or if his salary mindful of current value on field would be better spent elsewhere. Some people in NY want to start Marquez and though Joseph is much superior in MLS, it’s the same issue of whether a name is enough for you to start. If you start to fade and have a big salary, and there are people on the market I can pick up who are either younger or better now or both, it’s only nostalgia that gets in the way.

You’re 9th of 10 Eastern teams. I’m not a fan of complete blowup rebuilding but the present bunch aren’t hacking it as a unit, and with a 9 point gap and 10+ games to go, gotta move now or write off this season.

Depending who they pick up, the implication to me is they have enough midfield, they need some help in other places.

Negative play? I guess you haven’t seen the Revs play this year. With the new 1st year coach Jay Heaps, the Revs are attempting to move to a more fluid attacking style of play. They are way more fun to watch then they’ve been in years past.

Heh, really? You honestly think that Shalrie this season was worth the money he was getting, and the Krafts were the ones pushing for this move, and that under a free spending owner there would have been no legitimate reason to make this move, that it won’t help the team? Yes the Krafts were cheap in the past, but I do think things have changed, and to say that this move was decided solely on economics is like saying Shalrie is just as good now as he was a few years ago.

Reminiscing aside, I like this move. He seemed to be in the line up based more on history than current play. Benching him could possibly have caused strife in the locker room that you often see when an aging player doesn’t want to admit he’s lost a step, and as was said, going to grass is also probably a good move for him – so it should be good for all involved.